Nurse Florence, Tell Me About Adipose Tissue is a short, friendly children’s book that follows three girls, Jean, Condi, and Sonia, as they chat with Nurse Florence in the school cafeteria and learn what body fat actually does. The book moves from simple ideas, like fat acting as insulation, to surprisingly detailed explanations of hormones such as leptin, adiponectin, and estrogen. It mixes everyday examples with easy visuals and keeps the tone warm and encouraging throughout.

As I read it, I found myself smiling at how casually the story slips into teaching real medical concepts. The girls talk about insulation in houses and then flip right into insulation in the body, and somehow that transition feels natural and kind of cute. When Nurse Florence shows them an illustration and explains that adipose cells are “big and round because they hold fat inside,” the moment is simple but strangely satisfying in its clarity.

I also appreciated how the book doesn’t shy away from more advanced ideas. For example, the section about hormones, like leptin telling the brain to reduce appetite or adiponectin helping regulate blood sugar, surprised me. Even though the ideas get pretty heavy, the book keeps things breezy. It never feels patronizing, which I really appreciated. Michael Dow genuinely believes kids can manage real science, even when the vocabulary gets a little hefty or awkward.

Another moment that stuck with me was the reminder that the body is interconnected, that if one system changes, another reacts. Nurse Florence explains homeostasis in a calm, almost cozy way that I didn’t expect for such a big idea. It gave the book a bit of emotional weight and left me thinking. The closing page, where the girls reflect that having too little or too much fat can hurt the body, hits a balanced note without being preachy.

I’d recommend Nurse Florence, Tell Me About Adipose Tissue to curious kids, parents who like reading science together, and teachers who want approachable STEM material. It’s simple, sweet, and surprisingly informative, and even as an adult I walked away with a tiny spark of “hey, that was fun to learn.” The tone is warm, the drawings are gentle, and the science is real.

Pages: 62 | ISBN : 1300911441